


everybody needs someone around

by punkrockbadger



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Desi Potters, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Marauders' Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-12
Updated: 2016-01-12
Packaged: 2018-05-13 07:39:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5700358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkrockbadger/pseuds/punkrockbadger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is more to all of them than what numbers the tests give back. </p><p>Remus is mischievous and kind and deserves all the nicest, softest things the world has to offer. Sirius is one of the best friends Lily could hope for, now that he’s cut down on the horrible jokes a little and is actually working on curbing his tendency toward reckless endangerment, and he has impeccable taste in music. Peter always knows what gifts to get people for any occasion, and if you want a mystery solved, he’s your guy. Marlene could probably lift a car, if she set her mind to it, and will probably become the Minister of Magic someday. Alice could make anyone her best friend and convince them it was their idea. Frank is incredible with animals, plants and humans alike. Mary is the best person to have on your side in an argument. And James… And James…</p><p>“And James?” James asks, hazel eyes alight as he grins at her, the flash of his teeth a stark, bright white against the dark brown of his face, and Lily’s eyes widen. Shit, had she been saying that aloud?</p>
            </blockquote>





	everybody needs someone around

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EliteDelieght](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EliteDelieght/gifts).



> Congratulations on being the motivated, brilliant and hard working person you are. I am, as always, incredibly proud of you. Have a present! -S <3

“Isn’t it weird that one set of exams defines everything?” Lily asks, and James frowns thoughtfully, glasses slipping just barely down the bridge of his nose. Lily has a strange view of his face from where she is lying down, head in his lap. His fingers are carding through her hair, and she likes the feeling, likes how it makes her feel warm and fuzzy, like she’s being lit up from the inside. It goes a little way toward settling her nerves, which are currently screaming out at the thought of taking her NEWTs, which would start in less than eighteen hours. “I mean, you either get the scores you need and make it into the Ministry or whatever career you want, or you’re toast.”

“Well,” James, who hardly seems even the tiniest bit bothered by this exam business, says, "people can't be toast, because then eating bread would be cannibalism. And, technically the OWLs helped too, but thinking about two sets of exams as defining your future isn’t much better than thinking of just one. There’s more to all of us than how well we can throw material back at them, right?”

“Right.” Lily says, nodding. James is right. There is more to all of them than what numbers the tests give back. 

Remus is mischievous and kind and deserves all the nicest, softest things the world has to offer. Sirius is one of the best friends Lily could hope for, now that he’s cut down on the horrible jokes a little and is actually working on curbing his tendency toward reckless endangerment, and he has impeccable taste in music. Peter always knows what gifts to get people for any occasion, and if you want a mystery solved, he’s your guy. Marlene could probably lift a car, if she set her mind to it, and will probably become the Minister of Magic someday. Alice could make anyone her best friend and convince them it was their idea. Frank is incredible with animals, plants and humans alike. Mary is the best person to have on your side in an argument. And James… And James…

“And James?” James asks, hazel eyes alight as he grins at her, the flash of his teeth a stark, bright white against the dark brown of his face, and Lily’s eyes widen. Shit, had she been saying that aloud? If she doesn’t come up with a good answer, he’ll hold it over her forever. “What’s my redeeming quality? I’d ask about qualities, but I feel like asking for more than one would be a bit presumptuous.” She pulls a face, and he rolls his eyes, before going back to looking like an overgrown puppy. “Come on, tell me!”

“You’re warm.” She decides, nodding resolutely. That’s an honest one. James has been warm for as long as she can remember, in all senses of the word—he’s like a space heater even now, and they’re outside, in the early days of summer. He’s also a good friend, steady and dependable, but he knows that. No need to inflate his head—he does that well enough himself. She can’t point out exactly when that became more endearing than annoying, but it hasn’t bothered her in a long while. “You’re warm, and sometimes, you shut up when I tell you to.” 

“Good qualities.” James says, looking inordinately proud of himself, and Lily laughs, reaching up to smack the side of his face lightly. James sticks his tongue out as he turns his head, melodramatically clutching at his chest. He bounces right back, as usual, and looks thoughtful again before speaking. “Hm, yours are harder to list, ‘cause there are just way too many. Thankfully, I saw this coming and wrote them all down somewhere. Problem is, I’ve gone and lost that list, so I’ll be trying to do this from memory.”

“List?” Lily says, amused. James shrugs, ducking his head in embarrassment. “You’ve got a list?”

“More than one. Millions. And the boys have checked them all, so don’t worry, nothing mean or dirty on there.” James says, laughing. There's a tinge of nervousness to it, one that makes Lily want to hug him as tightly as she can, but he's counting off qualities on his fingers before she can sit up “Let’s see. You’re a hard worker. Once you set a goal, it’s hard to get you off the path to it. You’re unbelievably kind, and you’re always willing to stick up for the little guy. Or me. You know tons of good jokes and you've got a nice smile, and you’re going to ace these exams and be the top of our class all over again, and I’m going to get to say “I told you so”.” He grins, proud of himself, then frowns slightly when he doesn’t get a reaction. “It was a good list, wasn’t it?”

“You’re the sappiest person I’ve met.” Lily says, blinking in surprise. She hadn’t been expecting that, though now, in retrospect, she certainly feels that she should’ve been. Expecting James to be objective about the people he loves is like telling the sun not to shine. It just doesn’t happen. “Is that even sustainable?”

“Well, I’m a medical marvel.” James says, winking. He turns his face up to catch a particularly warm ray of sun, before continuing. “We’re taking it one day at a time, right now, and there’s no telling how long I’ll last. It might be terminal.”

“Poor baby.” Lily says, reaching up to pat his cheek, and James pouts down at her like he’s three and been denied dessert. “Such a big heart and nothing to do with it.”

“I mostly use it for storage really.” James says, smile softening as he looks at her. Lily doesn't know what he's seeing, but whatever it is, it's got him looking awfully bashful about the whole deal, and there's nothing she loves more than embarrassing James Potter. “Gotta put all your good qualities somewhere.”

“That’s _disgusting_ , James Potter, and you should be ashamed of yourself.” Lily says, groaning. James chuckles, shaking his head. “I’ve half a mind to owl your mother about it and turn you in, for the greater good. No one needs to hear that again.”

“But you’re not worrying about the exams anymore, are you?” He says, and Lily finds that he's right-- the world looks a little more in focus. She kind of feels like she can take them on, now, like she won’t spend the whole time worrying. The nightmares from yesterday, in which she’d show up to the exam hall and promptly forget everything for the subject she was writing the test for, are now faded and out of focus, unimportant and unnecessary. “Methods were untraditional, I agree, but it worked, didn’t it?”

“It worked.” Lily says, and smiles when he starts running his fingers through her hair again. For all that he'd said about making a list and losing it, he had listed those things off really quickly. “You really think that, don’t you? About me?”

“All the time.” James says sincerely, and bends down to plant a kiss on her forehead. “Now, for a more important question—did you get cuter in the last five seconds, or are my eyes getting better?”


End file.
